Leave your metal detector at home! Mallorca beachcomber hit with record fine

Found and sold lost objects on Mallorca beaches

Beachcomber given hefty fine.

Jason MoorePalma04/03/2025 10:29

A Mallorca beachcomber has been fined 540 euros and must place a bond of 5,287 euros with the Lost and Found Office in Palma after being found guilty of misappropriation of private property. The purpose of the Bond is to be able to pay people who claim that they have lost items on the beach which were found by the beachcomber and sold.

After finding the items on local beaches he would sell them at pawn shops for a hefty profit. The items included gold rings and other items of jewellery.

After learning of his activity, the man was summoned to testify at the National Police headquarters in Palma.

There he explained to the agents of the Robbery Group, in addition to the fact that he had been searching for years, that at no time did he know he was committing any crime and that he decided to sell them to get some extra money on top of his salary. He was charged with a misdemeanour of misappropriation.

Months later, he was sentenced to a fine and ordered to pay the proceeds from the sale of the jewels following an agreement between his defence and the representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office.